My little lovelies...

Peggy is 9 months now... Not my tiny little screecher any longer. She's lean with a plump bottom, olive-skinned, with eyes that are almost black, rosy cheeks, a toothless smile and wispy, golden hair. She's quite clingy to me now, with bursts of great independance and determination in between. I think sometimes we all ascribe certain traits to babies early on, forgetting that many of their characteristics relate to development and can change with the wind. Not overly fussed on the boob, she'll have it if there's nothing more interesting going on anywhere nearby, but she prefers to be fed during the night. Half-asleep and twitchy, 5-10 minutes on the boob settles her down for more sleep and warms her cheeks which are made cold by the frigid midnight air. We've been having some desperately cold weather in Sydney of late.

I'll wean her when she turns one, and I doubt she'll even notice... She'll no doubt be walking by then. Her development has stalled a little lately - the physical stuff, I mean. She's been standing in very short spurts for about 6 weeks now, but hasn't progressed past that. She's loud - loves to hear herself scream. She's not big on eating, although she's got a sweet tooth and wouldn't dream of knocking back a little mouthful of Dairy Milk or a fresh-baked peanut butter cookie. I came up with one meal they both adore. I cooked it the same day Phil took O to see Shrek 4 at the movies, and since it's bright green, it's become known as The Shrek Meal. It's risoni with a rich, luminous spinach and cheese sauce mixed through it. Delicious.

She's sleeping most of the night with me, and I am cherishing it now... It's amazing how differently I am perceiving the co-sleeping this time around. I guess that's because I miss having Otis by my side, breathing his breath, feeling a warm, mushy hand fondle my face. I miss it terribly. And I know I'll miss her just as much, her little body tucked in next to mine, her long eyelashes resting on those squeezable cheeks.

Otis is just great. He's got a best friend now, and loves to play with sticks, we look for bears and tigers and snakes in our backyard. He mimics me profusely... If he's unsure about something he says "I can't know" instead of "I don't know". And multiple times a day we have to "talk about our days", which means listing everything we've done since he woke up and listing everything we'll do tomorrow. His current favourite movie is Stuart Little. He's right into reading too, recalls the words I've read and uses the pictures to come up with the rest.